Unit 7A - Cognition & Memory Practice Questions

Paula Gil & Angela Herrera

AP Psychology 12

1. Memory is best defined as

a. the conscious encoding of information
b. stored knowledge that has been semantically encoded
c. the persistence of learning through the storage and retrieval of information
d. the retrieval of stored information in precisely the same form in which it
was encoded
e. recalling and retrieving information stored in the cerebral cortex

2. The process of encoding refers to

a. the persistence of learning over time
b. the recall of information previously learned
c. getting information into memory
d. the motivated forgetting of painful memories
e. a clear memory of an emotionally significant event

3. The process of retrieval refers to

a. the persistence of learning over time
b. the organization of information into manageable units
c. getting information out of memory storage
d. conscious repetition of information to be remembered
e. the identification of information previously learned

4. Some information in our fleeting _______ is encoded into short-term

memory
a. repressed memory
b. sensory memory
c. flashbulb memory
d. long-term memory
e. semantic memory

5. As his AP Psychology teacher was lecturing, Tanner was thinking about

competing in a swim meet later that afternoon. Where are Tanner’s current
thoughts being processed?
a. sensory memory
b. the cerebellum
c. working memory
d. echoic memory
e. long-term memory

6. Which term best describes parallel processing?

 a. voluntary
b. conscious
c. serial
d. automatic
e. sequential

7. Automatic processing occurs without

a. iconic memory
b. semantic encoding
c. conscious awareness
d. long-term potentiation
e. sensory memory

8. Effortful processing can occur only with

a. implicit memory
b. conscious attention
c. visual imagery
d. chunking
e. sensory memory

9. Hermann Ebbinghaus’ use of nonsense syllables to study memory led to the

discovery that
a. the amount remembered depends on the time spent learning
b. what is learned in one mood is most easily retrieved in that same mood
c. information that is automatically processed is rarely forgotten
d. our sensory memory capacity is essentially unlimited
e. hypnosis can increase recall of meaningless information

10. Students often remember more information from a course that spans an
entire semester than from a course that is completed in an intensive
three-week learning period. This best illustrates the importance of
a. long-term potentiation
b. the serial position effect
c. automatic processing
d. implicit memory
e. the spacing effect